Finally the 2nd-generation Fiat Fiorino got a replacement in Brazil and other regional markets such as Uruguay in late 2013. Altough its platfrm is the same one used in the Euro-spec Fiorino, also shared with the current Fiat Panda (including a Brazilian version introduced in 2010 but rebadged as Uno), the design still gets the same basic tall-box layout of the previous generation. There are also some differences in the powertrain options: it comes only with the 1.4L Fire Evo 8-valve engine in a flexfuel (gasoline/ethanol) version, bolted to a 5-speed manual transmission. Since it's mostly targetted to be a no-frills workhorse, a Dualogic automated-manual transmission is not available due to its purchase cost, in spite of the longer lasting of the clutch pack being a good advantage for a commercial vehicle. Diesel engines are also not offered for this variant of the Fiorino because its biggest markets (and basically the only ones where it's available), Brazil and Uruguay, have bureaucratic restrictions preventing the registration of vehicles with Diesel engines and a payload under one metric ton, unless they feature either hi-lo 4WD or at least seating for 9 passengers plus driver.
If it's no Diesel it's not for me. I'd rather get the Doblò.
ReplyDeleteIt looks nice, I actually like this high-cube design cues from those small car-based vans more than the recent models.
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